Home Ownership is a Good Long Term Investment

Home ownership with a time horizon of 5-10 years or longer is always a great investment strategy. One of the aspects that make it such a good strategy is the tax advantages gained from home ownership. So the gains are not only from long term capital appreciation. They also come from the tax savings every year.

The biggest savings come from the deduction of mortgage interest. Since most mortgages are amortized over 30 years, nearly all of your mortgage payments will be mostly interest at least for the first 10 years or so. You can also deduct real estate property taxes.

Another tax advantage of home ownership is the exemption of capital gains from the sale of a primary residence. You can deduct up to $250,000 of profits if you resided in the property for at least 2 of the previous 5 years prior to the sale. There’s an even bigger exemption of $500,000 if you are married.

With at least a 5 year time horizon, buying a home is a good investment no matter the current market conditions. The savings start right away from the tax deductions and home price appreciation is a given with a long enough time horizon.